Hygienic wipes steamer

ABSTRACT

Provided is a hygienic wipes steamer having a housing assembly with a liquid container and a generally planar heater assembly being supported thereby. The housing assembly may be configured for supporting either a stack of individual sheets of hygienic wipes material or a roll of hygienic wipes material. The individual sheets of both the roll and the stack are preferably arranged in detached relationship to one another and are successively delivered to the heater assembly. A wipes transporter may be further included within the housing assembly and is operative to successively engage the uppermost one of the individual sheets of the stack for transportation to the heater assembly. Alternatively, a roller assembly may be included with the housing assembly and is preferably operative to deliver individual sheets to the heater assembly prior to warming and moisturizing thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/103,776 entitled HYGIENIC WIPES STEAMER, filedon Apr. 12, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/958,030, entitled HYGIENIC WIPES STEAMER, filed on Oct. 4,2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,903,307, the entire contents of eachapplication being expressly incorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to hygienic wipes warmers and,more particularly, to an improved hygienic wipes steamer that isspecifically adapted to produce individual, warmed and moistenedhygienic wipes from dry non-woven or paper material.

Hygienic wipes have been marketed in the United States for many years.Essentially, hygienic wipes are small pre-moistened paper or synthetic(non-woven) towelettes and are typically available in packages to theconsuming public. They are used to cleanse the skin of infants and smallchildren and are also referred to as baby wipes. The wipe fluid contentfor these pre-moistened wipes is generally comprised of cleansers,lotions and preservatives.

A few years after the hygienic wipes were introduced into themarketplace, various products for warming the wipes were made availableto the public. Such products have been devised to comfort the hygienicwipes user from the inherent “chill” given off by the contact of themoistened wipes. For example, it is now a common practice for parents toemploy the use of warm hygienic wipes (i.e., hygienic wipes) on theirchildren.

These warming products are generally electrically-operated and aregenerally available in two distinct styles. One is an “electric blanket”style which is sized to wrap around the external surfaces of a plastichygienic wipes container. The other is a self-contained plastic“appliance” style which warms the accommodated hygienic wipes with itsinternally positioned heating element. Though such currently known andavailable hygienic wipes warming products achieve their primaryobjective of warming hygienic wipes, they possess certain deficiencieswhich detract from their overall utility.

One significant deficiency of the prior art hygienic wipes warmers istheir inability to quickly and thoroughly warm the hygienic wipes. Theprior art hygienic wipes warmers are typically configured to position aheating element in general proximity to an area where the hygienic wipesare disposed. In this respect, the generated heat is merely conveyed tosuch area which then gradually and slowly diffuses itself therethroughout so that the hygienic wipes can eventually be heated to theelevated temperature. However, even then, not all the hygienic wipes areadequately warmed as the heat often times does not reach the hygienicwipes disposed in the middle of a hygienic wipes stack. As such, theprior art hygienic wipes warmers expend a great amount of time inwarming up the hygienic wipes, often with inadequate performance.

Another deficiency of the prior art hygienic wipes warming products isthe inability to sustain the coloration of the hygienic wipes. Morespecifically, in prior art hygienic wipes warming products,discoloration or browning of the hygienic wipes occurs because of areaction of various chemicals in the wipes to heating. As such, eventhough the prior art hygienic wipes warming products may adequately warmthe hygienic wipes, they cannot, however, avoid the undesirable effectsof discoloration when warming them.

In addition, prior art hygienic wipes warming products are limited inthe temperature to which they can effectively heat the hygienic wipesbecause drying out of the hygienic wipes over time. Even further, priorart hygienic wipes warming products are by their nature oftenineffective in heating the hygienic wipes to a sufficiently elevatedtemperature. More particularly, the heated hygienic wipes may only beheated up to body temperature due to rapid dissipation of heat when thehygienic wipes are exposed to open air.

An even further deficiency associated with prior art hygienic wipeswarming products is associated with hygienic wipes that are provided ina stacked formation. In such an arrangement, each one of the hygienicwipes in the stack must be pre-cut to a specific size that is compatiblewith the particular hygienic wipes warming device. Furthermore, thepre-cut hygienic wipes must be layered in registration with one another(i.e., aligned) and/or pre-folded in the stack formation such that thestack will fit within the hygienic wipes warmer.

After heating, the individual hygienic wipes may then be withdrawn fromthe hygienic wipe warming device and/or unfolded for use. As may beappreciated, the necessity of precutting, pre-folding, and layering thehygienic wipes in registration increases the manufacturing costsassociated with hygienic wipes. Such costs are ultimately passed on tothe consumer during the purchase of hygienic wipes warmer and forsubsequent refill purchases of the hygienic wipes. In addition, thewarm, moist and dark environment within prior art hygienic wipes warmingproducts provides a breeding ground for potentially harmfulmicro-organisms (e.g., germs).

Some prior art hygienic wipes warmers present another deficiency in theform of a safety hazard due to the inclusion of a hot water containerwithin the hygienic wipes warmer. Such prior art hygienic wipes warmersoperate by heating the container of water and then using hot water orsteam from the heated water to warm a hygienic wipe. While thisconfiguration of hygienic wipes warmer may be acceptable for use incertain commercial or institutional environments, the hot water in thecontainer poses an unreasonable risk in a home environment. For example,it is foreseeable that a toddler could pull the hygienic wipes warmeroff of a countertop or table with resulting scalding of the toddler bythe hot water in the container.

Prior art hygienic wipes warmers of the type having the heated watercontainer are additionally inconvenient from a time-efficiencystandpoint. Such hygienic wipes warmers require a relatively lengthywaiting period (e.g., up to 30 minutes) from activation of the hygienicwipes warmer until a warmed hygienic wipe is produced. This is becausethe entire contents of the water container must be sufficiently heatedin order to then heat the hygienic wipes to an acceptable temperature.Such lengthy waiting period may be unacceptable and impractical incertain situations such as those situations involving infant care.

Thus, there exists a substantial need in the art, and in the infantproducts manufacturing business in particular, for a hygienic wipeswarming product that can effectively provide warmth to hygienic wipeswithout discoloration. Additionally, there exists a need in the art fora hygienic wipes warming product that can heat the hygienic wipes in atime-efficient manner. Additionally, there exists a need in the art fora hygienic wipes warming product that avoids the safety hazardsassociated with hot water containers as used in prior art hygienic wipeswarmers. Also, there exists a need in the art for a hygienic wipeswarming product that avoids the deficiencies associated with growth ofmicro-organisms in prior art prior art hygienic wipes warmers that usepre-moistened wipes. Finally, there exists a need in the art for ahygienic wipes warming product that can achieve these objectives in auser-friendly and cost-effective manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention specifically addresses the above-referenced needsassociated with hygienic wipes steamers. More specifically, the presentinvention is a hygienic wipes steamer that is specifically adapted toprovide individual, warmed and moistened hygienic wipes from either astack or a roll of dry, non-woven or paper material. Furthermore,regardless of whether the starting material is provided in stacked orrolled form, the various embodiments of the hygienic wipes steamer asdescribed herein provides for the heating of individual hygienic wipeson a generally planar heating assembly to avoid the complexitiesassociated with rolling the hygienic wipes on a heater tube and ejectingthe rolled hygienic wipes out of the hygienic wipes steamer. In oneaspect of the invention, the hygienic wipes steamer is configured toproduce a hygienic wipe from an individual sheet taken from a stack ofmaterial.

In its broadest sense, each of the embodiments of the hygienic wipessteamer as described below includes a housing assembly, a liquidcontainer and a generally planar heating assembly supported by thehousing assembly. The liquid container may be supported by or mountedwithin the housing assembly and preferably includes provisions fordetecting liquid level in the liquid container. The heating assembly isoperative to receive liquid from the liquid container and vaporize atleast a portion thereof for moisturizing and warming the individualsheets in one-at-a-time fashion.

As was earlier mentioned, the hygienic wipes steamer may be configuredto support a stack of individual sheets of hygienic wipes material thatis preferably arranged with the sheets being detached from one anothersuch that no cutting mechanism is necessary. In an alternativeembodiment, the individual sheets may be drawn from a roll of hygienicwipes material mounted within the housing assembly. The roll of hygienicwipes material may be comprised of individual sheets that are wound uponthe roll but which are separated from one another upon unwinding fromthe material roll. In this regard, opposing ends of the individualsheets may be disposed in generally close abutting or slightlyoverlapping relationship to one another. Alternatively, the materialroll may include spaced rows of perforations which extend across a widthof the material such that upon unwinding, the roll of material may bepartitioned into individual sheets.

The liquid container may be either integrally formed with the heaterassembly or separately mounted within or upon the housing assembly.Liquid drawn from the liquid container may be provided to a heatingelement included with the heater assembly such that the liquid may bevaporized in order to warm and moisten individual sheets of the hygienicwipes. A pump unit may be provided to draw water from the liquidcontainer for delivery to the heating element of the heater assembly.

The hygienic wipes steamer may further include a wipes transporter whichis operative to successively deliver individual sheets from the stack tothe heater assembly for moisturizing thereof. The wipes transporter maybe configured as a grabber assembly and may be operative to engageindividual sheets from the stack and release the sheets at the heaterassembly. The wipes transporter may be configured as a grabber assemblywhich may be transversely reciprocatively mounted on a transporter drivescrew mounted adjacent an upper portion of the hygienic wipes steamer.

The grabber assembly itself may be configured as a suction cup assemblyor other suitable device specifically configured to engage, such as bysuction, individual sheets from the stack for lateral transportation tothe heater assembly. Operation of the wipes transporter may be regulatedby means of a control circuit which may be pre-programmed to generate apre-determined quantity (e.g., a single sheet or multiple sheets) ofhygienic wipes upon activation of the hygienic wipes steamer.

Alternatively, in an alternative embodiment of the invention, theindividual sheets of hygienic wipes material may be wound onto the rollin detached relationship to one another. The material roll may includespaced perforations to facilitate separation of the individual sheetsfrom one another. In such an arrangement, the hygienic wipes steamer mayfurther include a roller assembly having a pair of rollers that areoperative to pinch successive ones of the individual sheets therebetweenin order to facilitate one-at-a-time delivery of the individual sheetsto the heater assembly.

Separation of the material roll along the pre-formed perforations ispreferably facilitated by temporarily halting rotation of one of thepairs of pinch rollers while continuing rotation of the other one of thepairs. In this manner, the individual sheets may be sequentiallydelivered to the heater assembly. Upon moisturizing (i.e., steaming),the individual sheet is ejected out of the housing assembly through awipes aperture formed therein.

The cycle may be repeated such that either a single one of theindividual sheets is steamed and dispensed from the hygienic wipessteamer or a pre-determined quantity of sheets is steamed and ejectedout of the hygienic wipes steamer. The hygienic wipes steamer may bemanually shut off or an automatic shut-off may be pre-programmed tooccur at a pre-determined length of time following the most recentsteaming of a hygienic wipes. Alternatively, a hygienic wipes steamermay automatically transition into a sleep mode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These as well as other features of the present invention will becomemore apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial cross sectional side view of a hygienic wipessteamer in a first embodiment having a housing assembly with a stack ofhygienic wipes material mounted there within and also having a generallyplaner heater assembly configured for moisturizing individual sheets ofthe hygienic wipes material in a successive manner;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional side view of the hygienic wipes steamer ofthe first embodiment and further illustrating a wipes transporterconfigured as a suction cup assembly operative to successively transportindividual sheets from the stack to the heater assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hygienic wipes steamer in a secondembodiment wherein a roll of the hygienic wipes material is delivered tothe heater assembly in a successive manner for moisturizing and warmingthe individual sheets;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side view of the hygienic wipes steamer ofthe second embodiment illustrating a roller assembly that is operativeto deliver individual sheets from the roll of hygienic wipes material tothe heater assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hygienic wipes steamer of the secondembodiment incorporating a liquid container into the housing assemblyfor delivery via a pump unit to a planar heating assembly;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional side view of the hygienic wipes steamer ofthe first embodiment wherein the wipes transporter is configured as ajaw mechanism configured to engage an uppermost one of the stack ofwipes arranged in inclined formation; and

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional side view of the hygienic wipes steamer ofthe first embodiment wherein the wipes transporter is configured as apusher assembly having a high-friction element for engaging theuppermost one of the stack of wipes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention only, andnot for purposes of limiting the same, FIGS. 1-7 illustrate a hygienicwipes steamer 10 constructed in accordance with various aspects of thepresent invention. FIGS. 1-2 and 6-7 illustrate the hygienic wipessteamer 10 in a first embodiment specifically adapted to generate warmedhygienic wipes from a stack of starting material. FIGS. 3-5 illustratethe hygienic wipes steamer 10 in a second embodiment specificallyadapted to generate warmed hygienic wipes from a roll of startingmaterial. As was indicated above, the hygienic wipes steamer 10 isadapted to provide individual, warm and moistened hygienic wipes 12 fromdry, non-woven or paper material or other suitable material.

In its broadest sense, the hygienic wipes steamer 10 comprises thehousing assembly 20, a liquid container 42 and a generally planar heaterassembly 46, all of which are disposed within the housing assembly 20.Advantageously, the hygienic wipes steamer 10 is configured such that anindividual sheet 16 of hygienic wipe 12 may be quickly produced uponactivation of the hygienic wipes steamer 10 allowing the individualsheets 16 to be produced in a cost effective manner using a stack orroll of material.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2 and 6-7, shown is the housing assembly 20 whichmay be constructed similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,903,307issued to McConnell et al., (the McConnell '307 reference) the entirecontents of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein. Moreparticularly, the housing assembly 20 may include a housing base 24which is secured to a housing body 22. A base cover plate 32 maybedisposed on one side of the housing assembly 20 to allow for access toan interior of the housing base 24 within which certain components maybe housed. Foot pads 38 may be mounted an opposite side of the housingassembly 20 for non-slidably supporting the hygienic wipes steamer 10such as on a kitchen or bathroom countertop.

The housing body 22 may include a pair of opposed, spaced housing sidewalls 26, housing end walls 30, and housing top wall 28 whichcollectively define an interior housing compartment within which theliquid container 42 and generally planar heater assembly 46 arecontained. A support wall 36 may be included in the housing assembly 20for mounting a roller assembly 54 or other components thereto. For thehygienic wipes steamer 10 of the first embodiment, the housing assembly20 is configured for supporting a stack of individual sheets 16 ofhygienic wipes 12 material. The individual sheets 16 may be arrangedsimilar to a stack of paper wherein the sheets 16 are detached from oneanother.

Also contained within the housing assembly 20 is the liquid container 42which may be integrally formed with the heater assembly 46 as shown inFIG. 5 or which may be mounted within the housing assembly 20 as aseparate component. For the latter, it is contemplated that the liquidcontainer 42 is configured as an elongate, generally vertically-orientedhousing member having a fill port disposed at an upward end thereof andwhich is accessible through the housing top wall 28. In this regard, theliquid container 42 may be refilled with liquid simply by applyingliquid through an aperture formed in the housing top wall 28. Thehygienic wipes steamer 10 may be configured such that the liquidcontainer 42 is visible through the side walls 26 or end wall 30 inorder to allow for visual observation of the level of the liquid withinthe liquid container 42.

The liquid container 42 may be fabricated of any suitable material andis preferably fabricated such as by an injection molding process. Inorder to prevent the growth of microorganisms, the liquid container 42may be fabricated of plastic that includes an anti-microbial additive. Apump unit 44 may be included with the housing assembly 20 as shown inFIG. 5 and is preferably configured to pump liquid from the liquidcontainer 42 into the heater assembly 46. Also shown in FIG. 5 areliquid conduits fluidly connecting the pump unit 44 to the heaterassembly 46 to facilitate such pumping of liquid. As will described ingreater detail below, when the hygienic wipes steamer 10 is activated,as may be indicated by the activation/indication mechanism 60 disposedadjacent to the housing base 24, a heating element 48 included with theheater assembly 46 may be warmed to allow for vaporization of liquidfrom the liquid container 42 in order to warm and moisten individualsheets 16 of the hygienic wipes 12.

Referring still to FIGS. 1-2 and 6-7, the hygienic wipes steamer 10 ofthe first embodiment may further include a wipes transporter 70 disposedwithin the housing assembly 20 and which is operative to successivelydeliver individual sheets 16 from the stack to the heater assembly 46for heating thereof. The wipes transporter 70 may be configured as agrabber assembly 76 which is operative to engage individual sheets 16from the stack and release the individual sheets 16 at the heaterassembly 46. The wipes transporter 70 may comprise a transporter motor74 rotatably coupled to a transporter drive screw 72 upon which may bemounted the grabber assembly 76.

The grabber assembly 76 may be configured in a variety of embodimentsincluding a suction cup assembly 78 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 or a pusherassembly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The suction cup assembly 78 isspecifically configured to successively engage, by suction, individualsheets 16 from the stack. The wipes transporter 70 is further configuredto laterally transport one of the individual sheets 16 from the stack tothe heater assembly 46 and then disengage or release the individualsheet 16 upon a heater surface of the heater assembly 46.

Operation of the wipes transporter 70 may be regulated by means of acontrol circuit having a pre-programmed or programmable microprocessorfor regulating various operating parameters. For example, thetransporter motor 74 may be operated in such a manner as to reciprocatelaterally back and forth via the transporter drive screw 72 in order tomove the suction cup assembly 78 back and forth from the stack to theheater assembly 46. The cycle may be repeated a predetermined number oftimes or according to user input.

The heater assembly 46 may include the heating element 48. Uponactivation of the hygienic wipes steamer 10, the heating element 48 iswarmed to a predetermined or a user-set temperature that is preferablysufficient to vaporize liquid from the liquid container 42. In thisregard, the heater assembly 46 may be configured similar to that whichis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,674,048 issued to McConnell et al., (theMcConnell '048 reference) the entire contents of which are expresslyincorporated by reference herein. The heater assembly 46 may include asupport surface upon which may be mounted a sponge layer for retainingliquid therein. The heating element 48 is preferably operative to heatliquid contained within the sponge layer in order to transition theliquid into hot water or heated vapor. The heater assembly 46 mayinclude a surface having steam holes 50 formed therein in order to allowvapors generated by the heating element 48 to be absorbed by theindividual sheet 16.

The surface of the heater assembly 46 is preferably configured to allowfor moisturizing of the individual sheet 16 resting thereon whileallowing for easy removal of the individual sheet 16 once sufficientlywarmed. In this regard, a suitable coating or surface texture ispreferably provided to the heater assembly 46 surface. As shown in theMcConnell '048 reference, the support surface may be configured as asuspension tray with the sponge layer being positionable thereupon. Inthis manner, liquid contained within a liquid reservoir may be absorbedinto the sponge layer to allow for moistening of the individual sheet 16of hygienic wipe 12. The heating element 48 disposed within the heaterassembly 46 is preferably operative to generate steam from the liquid inorder to steam the individual sheets 16.

Once sufficiently warmed and moistened, the individual sheet 16 may beejected out of the housing assembly 20 through the housing side wall 26via a wipe aperture 34 formed within the housing side wall 26, as isshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, the hygienic wipes steamer 10 may beconfigured such that the individual sheets 16 may be dispensed out ofany location of the housing assembly 20. In this regard, the individualsheets 16 may be dispensed out of the housing end wall 30, through thehousing top wall 28 or through the housing side wall 26.

Referring still to FIGS. 1-2 and 6-7, the stack of individual sheets 16of hygienic wipes 12 material may be supportably mounted on a stacksupport 64. A biasing member 66 such as a compression spring interposedbetween the housing base 24 and a stack support 64 plate may bias thestack upwardly to facilitate engagement of the individual sheets 16 bythe wipes transporter 70. In this manner, an uppermost one of theindividual sheets 16 from the stack may be positioned at a heightsufficient to allow engagement thereof by the wipes transporter 70followed by lateral transitioning to the heater assembly 46.

The stack may be mounted within stack guides that maintain registrationbetween adjacent sheets. Only the uppermost one of the individual sheets16 is preferably removed from the stack in one-at-a-time fashion. Inthis manner, inadvertent engagement of multiple ones of the individualsheets 16 is prevented. The biasing member 66 is preferably configuredto maintain the stack such that the uppermost one of the individualsheets 16 is moved to a predetermined level complementary to (i.e., thatis aligned with) the positioning of the wipes transporter 70.

Referring briefly now to FIG. 6, it is further contemplated that thestack may be arranged in inclined formation such that each one of theindividual sheets 16 has a leading edge 18 that is at least partiallyextended beyond the leading edge 18 of a next lower one of theindividual sheets 16. In this configuration, the grabber assembly 76 ispreferably configured to engage the leading edge 18 of the uppermost oneof the individual sheets 16 by means of a closeable jaw mechanism or setof jaw mechanisms. The jaw mechanism may by supported or suspended by ascrew drive similar to that show in FIGS. 1 and 2 and which is effectiveto laterally translate the jaw mechanism in coordination with openingand closing of jaw elements of the jaw mechanism to alternately engageand disengage the individual sheets 16.

As shown in FIG. 6, the jaw mechanism is configured to open and therebyreceive the leading edge 18 of the uppermost one of the individualsheets 16. The leading edges 18 are preferably disposed on a left-handside of the stack although it is contemplated that engagement of theleading edge 18 may occur on the right-hand side thereof. The jawmechanism is also preferably configured to open for disengaging theindividual sheet 16 at the heater assembly 46 at the appropriate time.Upon engagement, the grabber assembly 76 is preferably configured topull the individual sheet 16 from the stack towards the heater assembly46 and release the individual sheet 16 upon the heater assembly 46 forwarming and moisturizing thereof.

Referring briefly now to FIG. 7, it is further contemplated that thewipes transporter 70 may be configured as a pusher assembly 80 to pushthe uppermost one of the individual sheets 16 from the stack to theheater assembly 46. In this regard, it is contemplated that the pusherassembly 80 has at least one high-friction element 82 which engages theindividual sheet 16 and may include at least one surface-roughed ortextured pad that is placed into contact with the uppermost one of theindividual sheets 16.

The high-friction element 82 may include teeth or other engagingelements inclined in a direction toward the heater assembly 46 and whichare effective to engage or pick up the individual sheet 16. Due to theinclined angle of the teeth, reversal of the pusher assembly 80 allowsthe individual sheet 16 to slide off the teeth. Simultaneous with therelease of the individual sheet 16, the pusher assembly 80 is preferablyconfigured to lift or rise slightly above the level of the stack andthen lower again during engagement of another one of the individualsheets 16.

The pusher assembly 80 may further be operatively coupled to the drivescrew which is rotatable by means of a motor similar to that describedabove. Upon activation, the pusher assembly 80 may be operative toengage the uppermost one of the individual sheets 16 with the highfriction pads whereupon rotation of the transporter drive screw 72effectuates lateral translation of the high friction pads. In thismanner, the uppermost one of the individual sheets 16 may be moved fromthe stack to the heater assembly 46. After release on the heaterassembly 46, the high friction pads may be slightly lifted and thenlaterally translated back due to reverse rotation of the transporterdrive screw 72 by the transporter motor 74. The cycle may be repeateddepending upon the number of individual sheets 16 to be warmed andmoistened.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, shown is the hygienic wipes steamer 10 in asecond embodiment wherein the individual sheets 16 are drawn from theroll of hygienic wipes 12 disposable within the housing assembly 20. Apair of roll mounts 62 may be connected to the housing assembly 20 suchas the housing base 24 wherein the roll may be supported similar to thatshown and described in the McConnell '307 reference, as was earliermentioned. The roll of hygienic wipes 12 material may be comprised ofindividual sheets 16 wound upon the roll such that the hygienic wipes 12are separated from one another upon unwinding from the material roll 14.

The individual sheets 16 may be wound onto the roll in detachedrelationship to one another. In this regard, opposing ends of each oneof the individual sheets 16 may be disposed in generally abutting orslightly overlapping relationship to one another as shown in FIG. 5.Alternatively, the material roll 14 may include spaced rows ofpre-formed perforations extending transversely across a width of thematerial as shown in FIG. 3 such that unwinding of the roll allows forpartitioning of the material into the individual sheets 16. The hygienicwipes steamer 10 may include a roller assembly 54 as shown in FIGS. 3-5in order to facilitate separation of the individual sheets 16.

The roller assembly 54 may include a pair of rollers each having pinchrollers 58 disposed adjacent thereto in order to temporarily capturesuccessive ones of the individual sheets 16 therebetween. Pinch rollers58 may also be positioned adjacent to the material roll 14 to facilitateunwinding of sheets 16 that have overlapping edges. Preferably, theroller assembly 54 is operatively regulated by the appropriate controlcircuitry and programming to facilitate delivery of the individualsheets 16 to the heater assembly 46 in generally uniformly-spacedrelationship to one another. In this regard, the roller assembly 54 ispreferably configured such that once the individual sheet 16 isdelivered to the heater assembly 46, rotation of the roller assembly 54may temporarily cease to allow sufficient time for moisturizing andwarming the individual sheet 16 prior to ejection thereof from thehousing assembly 20.

Furthermore, for the roll having the pre-formed partitions, separationof the individual sheets 16 from one another may be facilitated bycooperation between the adjacent pairs of rollers and pinch rollers 58,as shown in FIG. 3-5. More specifically, upon threading of the leadingedge 18 of a material through the roller and pinch roller 58 shown onthe right hand side of the roller assembly 54 in FIG. 3, the leadingassembly is then threaded through the left hand pinch roller 58 androller combination. Separation of the material roll 14 along apre-formed perforation is facilitated by temporarily halting rotation ofthe right most roller/pinch roller assembly 54 while continuing rotationof the left most roller/pinch roller assembly 54 when the pre-formedperforations are interposed between the left most and right mostroller/controller assemblies 54. In this manner, the individual sheet 16may be delivered to the heater assembly 46 for moisturizing and warmingthereof.

The configuration of the heater assembly 46 and liquid container 42 forthe second embodiment is similar to that described above for thehygienic wipes steamer 10 of the first embodiment. The operation of thehygienic wipes steamer 10 of the first and second embodiments will nowbe described with reference to FIGS. 1-7.

Prior to activation of the hygienic wipes steamer 10 such as via theactivation/indication mechanism 60, the material of hygienic wipes 12may be initially loaded into the housing assembly 20. For the firstembodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 6-7, the material stack of individualsheets 16 is inserted between the stack guides such that it is supportedby the stack support 64 with a biasing member being configured tomaintain the uppermost one of the individual sheets 16 in complementaryvertical alignment with the wipes transporter 70. The liquid container42 may be filled with a desired amount of liquid which may includeanti-bacterial additives, lotions, or other additives. In addition, thestack of hygienic wipes 12 material may be pre-treated with similaranti-microbial additives, lotions, or other materials.

The liquid in the liquid container may simply comprise water but otherliquids may be utilized. Upon activation of the hygienic wipes steamer10, power is provided to the heating element 48 which may be configuredas an electrically powered element. Once the heating element 48 reachesa predetermined temperature, the activation/indication mechanism 60 mayindicate that the heating element 48 is sufficiently warmed. It iscontemplated that the time period required for sufficiently heating theheating element 48 may be in the range of about 10-15 seconds althoughmore or less time may be required to sufficiently heat to the desiredtemperature.

Once the heating element 48 is sufficiently warmed, activation of thehygienic wipes steamer 10 to initiate movement of the wipes transporter70 may be effectuated manually or autonomously. The wipes transporter 70is then operative to successively transport the uppermost one of theindividual sheets 16 from the stack to the heater assembly 46 formoisturizing and warming thereof. If the liquid container 42 is formedas a separate unit from the heater assembly 46, activation of the pumpunit 44 would cause liquid from the liquid container 42 to flow to theheating element 48 for vaporization of the liquid. A predeterminedquantity of liquid may be injected into the heater assembly 46 which isthen flashed by the heating element 48 into steam upon exposure thereto.The steam then passes through steam holes 50 formed in the heaterassembly 46 to warm and irrigate the individual sheet 16. The individualsheet 16 is then ejected out of the housing assembly 20 through thewipes aperture as shown in FIG. 2.

Prior to ejection of the hygienic wipe 12, if an additional sheet 16 ofhygienic wipe 12 material is to be warmed, the wipes transporter 70moves laterally back toward the stack and again engages the uppermostone of the individual sheets 16. The cycle may be repeated such that theindividual sheets 16 are steamed and dispensed from the hygienic wipessteamer 10 in one-at-a-time fashion. The hygienic wipes steamer 10 maybe further configured to automatically shutoff after a predeterminedlength of time (e.g., 30 seconds) or the hygienic wipes steamer 10 mayautomatically transition into a sleep mode.

Alternatively, a predetermined number of hygienic wipes 12 may be may besteamed and dispensed either by preprogramming or via manual quantityselection, prior to automatic shutoff. A processor or microprocessor maybe preprogrammed to activate the wipes transporter 70 and heaterassembly 46 in synchronized mode with one another such that individualsheets 16 may be efficiently prepared, steamed and ejected out of thehygienic wipes steamer 10. Furthermore, the processor may bepreprogrammed to automatically shutoff after processing a certainquantity of hygienic wipes 12. The processor may also be configured tocontrol the pump unit 44 in synchronization with the other components.

The operation of the hygienic wipes steamer 10 of the second embodimentwill now be described with reference to FIGS. 3-5. Prior to activationof the hygienic wipes steamer 10, the material roll 14 may be mountedwithin the housing assembly 20 on the roll mounts 62. Preferably, thematerial roll 14 is oriented such that unwinding of the leading edge 18of the material is from a side opposite the adjacent one of the housingside walls 26, as is shown in FIG. 4.

The leading edge 18 of the material roll 14 may then be threadedupwardly toward the right most one of the roller assemblies 54 (i.e.,either manually or automatically) and through the left most one of theroller assemblies 54 as shown in FIG. 4. Such threading may befacilitated by inserting the leading edge 18 between the feed roller 56and pinch rollers 58 of left most and right most roller assemblies 54.It is contemplated that the activation/indication mechanism 60 mayresult in rotation of the roller assemblies 54 to cause automaticthreading of a fixed amount of the leading edge 18 of the material roll14.

The liquid container 42 may be filled with a desired amount of liquid aswas described above. With the heating element 48 at a predefinedtemperature, the left most and right most ones of the roller assemblies54 may be operated so as to successively deliver individual sheets 16onto the heating assembly for moisturizing thereof. In this regard, theprocessor may be configured to allow sufficient time for the individualsheet 16 on the heater assembly 46 to absorb the appropriate amount ofheat prior to ejection of the individual sheet 16 out of the housingassembly 20.

As was earlier mentioned for the stack for the first embodiment, thematerial roll 14 for the second embodiment of the hygienic wipes steamer10 may be provided in a pretreated condition. For example, the materialroll 14 may be treated with various aloes and lotions for babies,infants, toddlers and children. For teenagers, the material roll 14 maybe treated to be effective against certain types of skin conditions.Furthermore, the hygienic wipes steamer 10 may be configured to receivevarious size material rolls 14 such as a toilet paper roll or a papertowel roll. The toilet paper roll may be pretreated with variouslotions, ointments and other preparations.

Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention maybe also apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, theparticular combination of parts described and illustrated herein isintended to represent only certain embodiments of the present inventionand is not intended to serve as limitations of alternatively deviceswithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A hygienic wipes steamer, the steamer comprising: a housing assemblyconfigured for supporting a stack of individual sheets of hygienic wipesmaterial; a liquid container supported by the housing assembly and beingconfigured to store a quantity of liquid; and a generally planar heaterassembly supported by the housing assembly and being operative toreceive liquid from the liquid container and vaporize at least a portionthereof for moisturizing and warming the individual sheets.
 2. Thehygienic wipes steamer of claim 1 wherein the individual sheets arearranged in detached relationship to one another.
 3. The hygienic wipessteamer of claim 1 further comprising a wipes transporter disposedwithin the housing assembly and being operative to successivelytransport individual sheets from the stack to the heater assembly. 4.The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 3 wherein the wipes transporter isconfigured as a grabber assembly operative to engage the individualsheet at the stack and release the individual sheet at the heaterassembly.
 5. The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 4 wherein the wipestransporter is configured as a suction cup assembly configured tosuccessively lift the individual sheets from the stack and release theindividual sheet onto the heater assembly.
 6. The hygienic wipes steamerof claim 4 wherein: the stack is arranged in inclined formation suchthat each one of the individual sheets has a leading edge that is atleast partially extended beyond the leading edge of a next lower one ofthe individual sheets; the grabber assembly being configured to engagethe leading edge of the uppermost one of the individual sheets and pullthe individual sheet from the stack to the heater assembly.
 7. Thehygienic wipes steamer of claim 1 wherein the heater assembly includesat least one steam hole formed therealong and through which vapor passesto moisturize and warm the individual sheets.
 8. The hygienic wipessteamer of claim 7 wherein the heater assembly includes a heatingelement disposed therewithin for generating steam from the liquid forsteaming the individual sheets.
 9. The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 1wherein the liquid container is formed from plastic having ananti-microbial additive.
 10. The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 1wherein the housing assembly is fabricated from a plastic material. 11.A hygienic wipes steamer, the steamer comprising: a housing assemblyconfigured for supporting a roll of hygienic wipes material; a liquidcontainer supported by the housing assembly and being configured tostore a quantity of liquid; and a generally planar heater assemblysupported by the housing assembly and being operative to receive liquidfrom the liquid container and vaporize at least a portion thereof formoisturizing and warming individual sheets of the hygienic wipesmaterial.
 12. The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 11 wherein theindividual sheets are wound onto the roll in detached relation to oneanother.
 13. The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 12 wherein the materialincludes spaced rows of preformed perforations extending across a widthof the material for partioning into the individual sheets.
 14. Thehygienic wipes steamer of claim 11 further comprising: a roller assemblydisposed within the housing assembly; wherein: the roller assembly isconfigured to receive material unwinding from the roll and successivelypartition the material into individual sheets; the roller assembly beingoperative to deliver the individual sheets to the heater assembly. 15.The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 14 wherein the roller assemblyincludes a pinch roller engageable to an adjacent feed roller forcapturing the material therebetween during unwinding of the roll. 16.The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 11 wherein the heater assemblyincludes at least one steam hole formed therealong and through whichvapor passes to moisturize and warm the individual hygienic wipes. 17.The hygienic wipes steamer of claim 16 wherein the heater assemblyincludes a heating element disposed therewithin for generating steamfrom the liquid for steaming the individual hygienic wipes.
 18. Thehygienic wipes steamer of claim 11 further comprising a pump unitoperative to pump fluid to the heater assembly.
 19. The hygienic wipessteamer of claim 11 wherein the liquid container is formed from plastichaving an anti-microbial additive.
 20. The hygienic wipes steamer ofclaim 11 wherein the housing assembly is fabricated from a plasticmaterial.